The Gentleman's motivation

[November]

I think one of the creepiest elements about the Gentlemen is why they do things. Because the answer to that is we have no idea.

They roll up in a town, seemingly randomly, steal everyone's voices, select seven victims, and given they specifically choose them, this isn't random, but we don't know why it isn't, cut out seven hearts, which they need for some unknown reason, then leave, unless someone stops them. Why do they do this? No-one knows.

I hadn't thought of what the Gentlemens motivation was before, I think I had assumed it was to feed their spell or some God demon.

What do you think their motivation was to come to Sunnydale and other towns to steal hearts?

 

[NotASlayer]

I hadn't thought of what the Gentlemens motivation was before, I think I had assumed it was to feed their spell or some God demon.

What do you think their motivation was to come to Sunnydale and other towns to steal hearts?

I have no idea! That's what's creepy! Though in the show they're described as fairytale monsters, their motivations seem more cosmic horror. Incomprehensible to us. They have a motivation, but why hearts? Why that number? Why those victims? They did walk - well, float - past plenty of places and victims to find the people whose hearts they took.

 

[TheXandyman]

Maybe to continue living? Or a ritual of some kind?

Well there are seven days of the week - perhaps there's significance there?

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Cursed humans. Making a deal with the devil, with immortality being paid for with murder is a fairly common bargain.

 

[thetopher]

Whatever it was there was an element of 'friendly' competition among them, right? They would like, congratulate each other on a good 'find', a good example of a heart to put in a lil' jar.

That doesn't say 'sacrifice' to me, that says 'bored, insane creatures that hunt for sport'. I don't think its anything to do with demons.

What it might be is something to do with medical practitioners, surgeons and alchemists looking for some kind of secret to surgical immortality, replacing their lost organs- or just hearts- through ritualistic occult autopsy to prolong their existences.

But again, that's a human-ish kind of understandable motivation to me. Maybe they're way more extra-dimensional and cosmic. I get 'Tall Man' from Phantasm vibes sometimes.

 

[Stake fodder]

So many demons seem to be evil for amusement's sake that I never really thought about their motivation. But perhaps the Hellmouth is an especially potent place to perform their heart spell, and perhaps the chosen victims lived closer to the Hellmouth. Or perhaps they or their hearts were significant in some way. More innocent? More evil? Only O-negatives?

 

[thrasherpix]

I think it's telling that Tara interested them, and presumably Willow as well. Maybe it wasn't so much hearts they needed (at least preferred), but a witch's heart.

It would be just casting spells or Giles and Xander would be among the prey. But an actual witch heart, which can include guys. (I've no doubt that past works have influenced their modern eps...they say as much at times, along with playing with the classic tropes even if it seems to fly in the face of their canon...and wonder how possible it is that Neil Gaiman's Stardust (published about the year before, which included lamia/hags and their slave creatures needing to steal the heart of a star put into human form to regain their youth and powers.)

They seem to ignore Buffy save when she gets in the way, and also the Initiative (but then the Initiative used tasers, which seem the bane of all things supernatural). They passed many rooms making motions of "not this one." Like they were shopping for the perfect one.

I'd say perhaps the most fear might draw them, but they passed Olivia by. If they'll try to break open a closet that Willow and Tara were in, I'm sure they'd think nothing of busting through a window. What are people going to do, call 911? The town that probably has the slowest police response time even at the best of times?

I suppose if I were to "make sense" of them in a fic, that they were born of Nightmare (the same realm as from Billy in season 1) that managed to gain some purchase upon reality that could enter Earth, which they'd have to do to continue their existence. That fits also if I'm remembering right that an actual nightmare inspired this episode (though I know it was Joss trying to prove he didn't need dialog to make a compelling ep).

 

[NotASlayer]

I think we only know the identities of two of the Gentlemen's victims, a UCS student and a teenager. Both young, which certainly might indicate something to do with longevity. But for all we know the other victims are older, and if "young" was the only qualifying factor, they could have harvested all the hearts from one corridor in the UCS halls in a matter of minutes.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

IIRC, Ian the Nerd's case was that the Gentleman represented "patriarchy" and that they fear a woman's voice more than anything. Well, it seems a dull take to me,but it would get you a b on a media studies paper. Probably.